Inmate Walks Free After Emailing Release Instructions to Prison Staff

An inmate who was in prison for multiple charges of fraud is apparently up to his old tricks. Posing as a senior court clerk, Neil Moore, 28, used an illicit mobile phone to email fake bail instructions to prison staff, who released him. Well, that’s embarrassing.

Moore was being held at Wandsworth Prison in the UK for persuading organizations to give him nearly 3 million US dollars, by posing as staff from Barclays Bank, Lloyds Bank and Santander. In his most recent deception, which a trial judge describes as “ingenious,” Moore set up a fake web domain closely resembling that of the court service’s official address. He used it to email the prison’s custody inbox with instructions for his release. The deception was uncovered three days later, when solicitors went to interview Moore, only to find him gone.

Apparently, Moore felt guilty about his latest, because he surrendered himself only three days after he was discovered missing. He’ll be sentenced on April 20th for 8 counts of fraud and one count of escape. For his next trick, Moore will spend 20 years tunneling himself out with a rock hammer.